


Dirty Paws

by Phoenix_Nightingale



Series: Beneath the Skin, My Head Is An Animal [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Hermione Dies, Songfic, Storytelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 18:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7724734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix_Nightingale/pseuds/Phoenix_Nightingale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Dirty paws and furry coat, she ran down the forest slopes."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dirty Paws

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the second installment of Beneath the Skin, My Head Is An Animal! Sorry for the wait!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dirty Paws. Those rights belong to J.K. Rowling and Of Monsters And Men, respectively.

_"Look, Mum!" A boy yelled, jumping up and down the floor. "My head is an animal!" Hugo Weasley was wearing a tiger mask he had made with his aunt while his mother was on an errand._

_Hermione Weasley née Granger, war heroine, brightest witch of her age, sighed. "Hugo, stop jumping around." When the boy continued to run around the room, pretending to be a tiger, Hermione decided to change tactics. "Speaking of animals, I have a story to tell you."_

_"Story? I love stories!" Hugo practically flew to his mother's lap in excitement._

_"I know you do, sweetie, but you have to promise me that you'll be quiet, okay?"_

_The eight-year-old boy nodded vigorously. "Okay!"_

_"Good." The brunette smiled triumphantly. "Now, once there was an animal. She had a son. They had a pet dragonfly, but it ran, well, flew, away. Don't worry," she added, seeing the boy gasp. "The dragonfly came back, and it brought back a story from abroad."_

_"Was the story about the animal?"_

_"Yes. Now, the story began with the animal. With her furry coat and dirty paws, she ran down the forest slopes. But it wasn't just any forest, no. It was a forest of talking trees."_

_"Cool! What do they talk about?"_

_"They used to sing about the birds and the bees."_

_"Ugh, Mum," Hugo whined. "Why does it have to be singing?"_

_"Hush, Hugo. You promised to be quiet." The mother chided. "Now, the bees had declared a war."_

_"Why would they do that?"_

_"Apparently, the bees decided that the sky wasn't big enough for them all. The birds got help from below."_

_"Below?" The boy interrupted._

_"They got help from dirty paws and the creatures of ice and snow." She explained. "Now, for a while, things were cold. The creatures were scared down in their holes for homes. The forest, once a lively green, was painted black by those_ killing machines _." Hermione emphasised the last two words with disgust and bitterness. Hugo was surprised, he never heard his mother so cold and full of hate. The tone she talked to him was always full of love and affection._

_"Mum, are you okay?"_

_Hermione looked at him and smiled lovingly. "Of course, Hugo. It's not like this is a real story." She mumbled the last sentence to herself. "On with the story! Now, she and her two furry friends took down the queen bee and her men. The end."_

_"Is that all?"_

_Hermione nodded. "That's how the story goes."_

...

Hugo smiled fondly at the memory as he laid fresh lilacs, her favourite, on his mother's grave. The remaining Death Eaters who were not in Azkaban, still bitter over the fall of Lord Voldemort, broke into their house and killed Hermione Granger, who had just reached her 39th birthday.

"The story of the beast with those four dirty paws."

**Author's Note:**

> Song: Dirty Paws  
> Artist: Of Monsters and Men
> 
> If you didn't catch it, the characters in the story each represent a character in Harry Potter. Hermione is the animal with the dirty paws, Hugo is her son, the Dragonfly would most likely be Rita Skeeter, the forest of talking trees is the Daily Prophet and the Ministry of Magic, the birds would be the Order of the Phoenix, the queen bee is Voldemort, the creatures of snow represent Hogwarts, the killing machines are the Death Eaters, and the she and her furry friends is the Golden Trio.


End file.
